Blogs

Essays by a diverse group of writers, in the United States and abroad, engaged in rethinking psychiatry. (The directory of personal stories can be found here, and initiatives here).

Close-up photo of the shift button on a computer keyboard, but it's labeled "Paradigm shift."

Are We Witnessing the Emergence of a New Paradigm?

24
Increasing numbers of people are finding the perspective that sees mental distress as an isolated, static category, fixed within a biological predisposition or malfunction, to be insufficient.
An illustration of a woman in a white dress, trapped inside a bottle full of blue and white pill capsules, against a gold background.

Why Detox Facilities and Psych Wards Are Not the Place to Come Off Psychiatric...

17
In online communities, patients learn their strange symptoms may be due to the medications they are taking, and are offered solutions that provide hope.
A black teen in a hooded sweatshirt sits on the stairs, hiding their face, looking depressed.

The “S” Word: How the Culture of Fear Has Failed Youth in Crises

7
I learned at a young age that my suicidal thoughts and feelings would be met with panic and punishment from adults.
A photograph of an archery target with three arrows in it. None have hit the bullseye.

From the Health Minister Down, Nobody Is Seriously Interested in the Quality Control of...

30
The ultimate metric is whether psychological treatment makes a real-world difference to client’s lives. But the data cannot answer this key question.
A kaleidoscopic photograph depicting a busy street, reflected multiple times

The Problem of High Functioning Anxiety

8
We have accepted that the busier we keep ourselves, the happier we can expect our lives to be. "Acceptable behavior" is defined by increased productivity across all aspects of life.
open dialogue

Re-humanising Mental Health Systems: A Discussion with Jaakko Seikkula on the Open Dialogue Approach

6
Clinical psychologist, researcher, and professor Jaakko Seikkula, along with Markku Sutela, created the Open Dialogue approach to acute crises in Finland.
A photograph of a bust of Cicero

A New-Old Way of Coping with Grief

5
"How to Grieve" is a Renaissance recreation of a lost text from ancient Rome by Cicero, and it’s meant for a wide audience. It's packed with talk-therapy strategies for coping with grief.
Perplexed, confused scientists looking at lab results. White background.

The Spravato Controversy: A Row Over the Drug’s Efficacy Compels a Reassessment of...

10
The UK's drug regulator rejected Janssen's esketamine nasal spray. Why did the US FDA approve it?
An illustration depicting a man opening a door in his chest, light spilling out

The Answers Are in Our Weak Spots

2
When looking at your own weak spots as a therapist, it would be a safe bet to first consider how you can improve your skills in developing a stronger alliance.
A woman in a suit with a skirt holds a lantern while standing on a desert landscape below a night sky full of stars

Grief, Intense Feelings, and Pathologization: Can We Conceive a Different Approach?

14
We still try to shove every kind of emotion into a neatly organized box, give it a label, maybe even an accompanying medicine to make it neat and predictable.

Mental Health & Our Schools, Part 2

10
Schools are rolling out programs and services intended to safeguard students’ emotional well-being. They are full of potential—and pitfalls.
Seated among others at a town hall meeting, an older adult white woman raises her hand

20 Concrete Steps to Achieving System Change

35
I offer the following 20 suggestions for advocates who want to get something done and not just vent their quite justifiable criticisms of the mental health system.
Black and white illustration of a flying origami bird with a giant realistic bird for a shadow

An Illness, or Risky Experimentation?

27
Questioning is what I did, but once I started questioning so much of what I had learned and of what my identity had been, it wasn’t obvious to me where I should stop.
Illustration of a naked person's back with a blue butterfly perched on their shoulder

A Return to Dignity from Psychiatric and Childhood Abuse

5
Homebirth was a reflection of how the mental health system should work: Informed person-centered care while respecting your agency.
Illustration depicting a keyhole in a person's shirt/chest. They are holding an old-fashioned skeleton key near it.

Why We Urgently Need New Approaches to Mental Health

11
Emotions function like a guidepost to what we need. But if we are not aware this, we cannot understand what they are trying to convey.
Photo of a man in a white button-down and tie, sitting at a desk in an office, with one hand on a computer keyboard and the other holding a red toy airplane

Meaningless Distractibility, or Meaningful Mind-Wandering?

6
What do we lose when we view boredom and curiosity as "symptoms" of ADHD? It can rob us of intuitions that crucial life changes desperately need to be made.
Vector drawing of pills and a box labeled "Placebo"

The Psychiatrist’s Dilemma: In Defense of Placebo Psychiatry

38
Telling stories they know are or may be untrue has become standard practice in psychiatry. It is a small step to set aside the need to provide truly informed consent.
Photo of a padlock chaining a set of document binders

“Beware, Scientology Related”: How ADHD Experts Silence Criticism

16
We do not belong to the scientology movement, but this false accusation triggered an email correspondence that exposed the problematic happenings usually behind closed academic curtains.

#RestoreTheirRights: An Update on Guardianship Action

11
It’s time to change the conversation around guardianship. The question is not “When do we remove someone’s rights?” but “How can we best support them?”
Man with glasses and scarf looks at a small red pill. Behind him is a pattern of money symbols.

The Culture Is the Poison: Why Psychedelics Are Dangerous Medicine in a Neoliberal Society

20
Extraction of psychedelics from the ritual process has dissociated them from community, connectedness, and responsibility, which used to define psychedelic drug use.
A teenage girl writing

A Developmental Response to Trauma and Trauma Language

46
Understanding life events (and/or our responses to them) as trauma has transformed how we suffer and how we relate to pain.

Call for Teen Art in All Media!

16
MIA's Family Resources and Arts sections are co-sponsoring an online teen multimedia art exhibition with the theme “Beyond Labels and Meds: What It Feels Like to Be Me.”
DNA particles and diffused glowing lines, 3d rendering

Major Depression: The “Chemical Imbalance” Pillar Is Crumbling—Is the Genetics Pillar Next?

17
A more detailed critical evaluation of molecular genetic studies, which have failed to discover genes shown to cause depression.
A hand chained in a chain holds pills

Behavior Therapy Helped My Patients Through Antidepressant Withdrawal

4
In behavior therapy, enduring psychological discomfort is an essential aspect of therapy leading to recovery. This may have implications for withdrawal experiences.
A black man stands with fingers in his ears as if pretending not to hear

The Phobic Avoidance of Attending to Real World Mental Health Outcomes

26
The avoidance of real-world outcome measures in research seems almost phobic. Yet this type of outcome should be considered the most important.